# Tatsuro Taira

Tatsuro Taira (平良達郎, Taira Tatsurō, born January 27, 2000) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of June 18, 2024, he is #5 in the UFC flyweight rankings. Taira is the first and only fighter to date born in the 2000s to fight in and win a UFC main event.

## Background

Taira started playing baseball in the third grade of elementary school but was not passionate about it and took a break in junior high school from club activities. Influenced by his older brother who was learning kickboxing at The Palaestra Okinawa, he started attending the gym in his first year of high school and trained in mixed martial arts under Ryota Matsune's guidance. In 2017, he won the 11th Kyushu Amateur Shooto Championship tournament and the 24th All-Japan Amateur Shooto Championship tournament, and was promoted to the professional ranks with a record of ten wins in ten amateur Shooto fights.
He lists Marlon Vera as his favorite fighter, and Vera himself sent a message to Taira in Japanese, saying "Thank you."

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

On August 3, 2018, he made his professional debut against Yo Otake in the first round of the flyweight division of the Shooto Rookie of the Year Tournament, winning by first-round triangle choke. On November 25, 2018, he rematched Ryu Oyakawa, whom he fought twice as an amateur, in the flyweight final of the Shooto Newcomer's Championship Tournament, winning by first-round guillotine choke. He won the flyweight rookie champion and MVP of the same year.
On September 22, 2019, he fought Takahiro Kobori, ranked #8 in the Shooto World Flyweight Rankings, and won by TKO via ground & pound 60 seconds into the fight.
Taira was next scheduled to face Kiyotaka Shimizu at Shooto 0329 on March 29, 2020. However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bout was then rebooked to take place at Shooto 1123 on November 23, 2020 and he won the fight via unanimous decision.
Won by rear-naked choke 61 seconds into the match against Yoshiro Maeda, ranked #5 in the world flyweight division by Shooto, on March 20, 2021.
On July 4, 2021, he faced champion Tatsuya Fukuda at the Shooto World Flyweight Championship and won by first-round triangle choke to win the title.
On November 6, 2021, he fought LFN flyweight champion Alfredo Muaiad at VTJ 2021 and won by first-round rear-naked choke.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

On February 4, 2022, he signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC.
On April 30, 2022, he was scheduled to fight Carlos Candelario at UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera, but the fight was cancelled after Candelario pulled out due to food poisoning just before the event.
The fight against Candelario was rescheduled for two weeks later on May 14, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
On October 15, 2022, he faced C.J. Vergara at UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araújo, winning by armbar submission in the second round. Taira won the Performance of the Night bonus. The fight took place under the condition that Vergara pay 30% of the fight money to Taira because Vergara weighed 3 pounds over the flyweight limit at the previous day's weigh-in.
On February 4, 2023, Taira faced Jesús Santos Aguilar at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac, winning by first-round triangle armbar. In the process, he also won his second consecutive Performance of the Night bonus.
On May 21, 2023, at Professional Shooto 2023 Vol. 3, he vacated his Shooto Flyweight Championship, stating that he could not defend his Shooto title as he would be fighting in the UFC.
On June 24, 2023, he was scheduled to face off against Kleydson Rodrigues at UFC on ABC: Emmett vs. Topuria, but the bout was canceled after Rodrigues weighed 3 pounds (1.3 kg) over the flyweight limit the day before the weigh-in.
Taira was rebooked for a week later at UFC 290 against UFC newcomer Edgar Chairez in a 130-pound catchweight bout. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Taira was scheduled to face David Dvořák on October 14, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 230. However, the bout was cancelled for unknown reasons.
Taira faced Carlos Hernandez on December 9, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 233 He won the fight via knockout in round two.
Taira was scheduled to face Tim Elliott on May 18, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 241. However, due to Elliott's undisclosed injury, the bout was canceled. Taira was then scheduled to face Joshua Van on June 1, 2024 at UFC 302. The fight was then switched and Taira ended up headlining UFC on ESPN 58 against Alex Perez in the main event on June 15, 2024. Taira won the fight by technical knockout as a result of Perez's knee injury in the second round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.
Taira faced former LFA Flyweight Champion and former UFC Flyweight Championship title contender Brandon Royval on October 12, 2024 in the main event at UFC Fight Night 244. He lost the fight by split decision. This fight earned him his first Fight of the Night award.

## Championships and accomplishments

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Brandon Royval
** Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. C.J. Vergara, Jesús Santos Aguilar and Alex Perez
** Tied (Deiveson Figueiredo) for fifth longest win streak in UFC Flyweight division history (5)
** Fourth most control time percentage in UFC Flyweight division history (49.9%)
** Second most top-position percentage in UFC Flyweight division history (45.5%)
** Fifth highest submissions-per-15 minutes in UFC Flyweight division history (1.78)
** UFC.com Awards
*** 2022: Ranked #4 Newcomer of the Year
*** 2024: Ranked #7 Fight of the Year vs. Brandon Royval
* Shooto
** Shooto Flyweight Championship (One time)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 17 matches | 16 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 5 | 0 |
| By submission | 7 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 16–1 | Brandon Royval | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira | October 12, 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 16–0 | Alex Perez | TKO (knee injury) | UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira | June 15, 2024 | 2 | 2:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 15–0 | Carlos Hernandez | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutiérrez | December 9, 2023 | 2 | 0:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 14–0 | Edgar Chairez | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 290 | July 8, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 13–0 | Jesús Santos Aguilar | Submission (triangle armbar) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac | February 4, 2023 | 1 | 4:20 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 12–0 | C.J. Vergara | Submission (armbar) | UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araújo | October 15, 2022 | 2 | 4:19 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (129 lb) bout; Vergara missed weight. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 11–0 | Carlos Candelario | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić | May 14, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 10–0 | Alfredo Muaiad | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Vale Tudo Japan 2021 | November 6, 2021 | 1 | 4:12 | Tokyo, Japan | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 9–0 | Ryuya Fukuda | Submission (triangle choke) | Shooto: 2021 Vol. 4 | July 4, 2021 | 1 | 4:31 | Osaka, Japan | Return to Flyweight. Won the Shooto Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 8–0 | Yoshiro Maeda | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | Shooto: 2021 Vol. 2 | March 20, 2021 | 1 | 1:01 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 7–0 | Kiyotaka Shimizu | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: 2020 Vol. 7 | November 23, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Bantamweight debut. |
| Win | 6–0 | Jared Almazan | TKO (punches) | Shooto: 2020 in Korakuen Hall | January 26, 2020 | 2 | 0:19 | Tokyo, Japan | Catchweight (130 lb) bout. |
| Win | 5–0 | Yamato Takagi | TKO (punches) | Shooto: The Shooto Okinawa Vol. 2 | November 3, 2019 | 2 | 4:40 | Okinawa, Japan | |
| Win | 4–0 | Takahiro Kohori | TKO (punches) | Shooto: Border Season 11 the 3rd | September 22, 2019 | 1 | 1:00 | Osaka, Japan | Return to Flyweight. |
| Win | 3–0 | Yuto Sekiguchi | Decision (unanimous) | Shooto: Gig Tokyo 27 | June 8, 2019 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Strawweight debut. |
| Win | 2–0 | Ryo Oyakawa | Submission (guillotine choke) | Shooto: The Shooto Okinawa Vol. 1 | November 25, 2018 | 1 | 3:24 | Okinawa, Japan | |
| Win | 1–0 | Yo Otake | Submission (triangle choke) | Shooto: This Is Shooto Vol. 2 | August 3, 2018 | 1 | 2:46 | Tokyo, Japan | Flyweight debut. |